The suspension applies to student, medical and other state-referred debt for at least 30 days.
6/17/2020 14:30
Collectors working with consumers on medical and student debt owed to the state of New York are required to suspend collections for an additional 30 days in response to the financial impact of the spread of COVID-19 after New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced they have renewed an order to temporarily halt these collections.
The order is effect through Thursday, July 16.
After this 30-day period, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will reassess the needs of state residents for another possible extension, according to a news release from the attorney general’s office.
The OAG collects certain debts owed to the state of New York via settlements and lawsuits brought on behalf of the state of New York and state agencies. A total of more than 165,000 matters currently fit the criteria for a suspension of state debt collection, including, but not limited to:
- Patients that owe medical debt due to the five state hospitals and the five state veterans’ homes;
- Students that owe student debt due to State University of New York campuses; and
- Individual debtors, sole-proprietors, small business owners, and certain homeowners that owe debt relating to oil spill cleanup and removal costs, property damage, and breach of contract, as well as other fees owed to state agencies.
The temporary policy has also automatically suspended the accrual of interest and the collection of fees on all outstanding state medical and student debt referred to the OAG for collection, according to the news release.
Read more from the New York Attorney General’s Office here.
For more information on how the ACA Licensing staff can assist with your licensing needs, please contact us at [email protected] or call (952) 926-6547.